New Washer/Dryer

 

My laundry struggles are over! My new stacking set came yesterday, and just does barely fit. I thought we would need to take down the cabinet. Instead, we had to sand down the edges. I think the cabinet is a bit crooked. I thought I would gain space on either side, maybe put table or add laundry baskets. I wasn't expecting things to stick out so far. The hoses keep the unit from sitting flush to the wall. The delivery guys ran a test, but I haven't washed clothes yet. I feel a bit intimidated by this hulking beast. 

A lot of other things are going on now. Sunday night, I had a severe allergic reaction- itching, headache. throat swelling, and vomiting. I found Middle Son vaping. And at that point, I had had enough. I am withdrawing him from school today. He gets 99% of his vapes at the school. I see no choice but to make him quit cold turkey. 

This past Friday, Middle Son failed a drug screening. THC was found. Finally, the doctor agreed he has an addiction and needs help. 

I texted my cousin about all this. She googled THC allergy and sent me the screenshot. Every one of my symptoms were on the list. 

Yesterday, I decided I needed to deep clean my house to get rid of the vape/cannabis residue. I struggled. I was exhausted from being up most of Sunday night, and I had taken a lot of Benadryl in a vain attempt to stop the reactions. I still have pain from the car accident, so I was forced to rest often. I got a little more than half the living room clean. I'm not sure if I am cleaning correctly. Maybe I should be washing down walls with vinegar. Of course, if I didn't take all the vapes away, this is for naught. I was very itchy last night, but I can't tell if that is because I came in contact with vapes but didn't shower before bed, or if it will take several days for the rashes to die down. I haven't found much information on THC allergy; most of it seems to be speculation rather than a documented case. I found one picture that looked the same as my rash, but most of the images were infographics of symptoms. Some of the pictures looked nothing like my rash. 

So I am blundering blindly. I need to shower at least once a day. Twice seems better. Morning and night, I apply apple cider vinegar to my skin because that seems to be the only thing that will heal the rash. If I have been scratching, the vinegar stings. After the vinegar, I apply a clear Benadryl lotion. That is the only thing that stops the itch. It is temporary relief. I get a couple of hours. Usually, Middle Son would go to school and I would be fine until he came home. Then I would get a wicked headache. My eyes would itch and water. I would sneeze or cough. I would tell him not to vape in the house. He would lie. My rashes would start flaring. I would take antihistamine and pray my throat wouldn't swell closed. Sometimes I would find a vape, but usually I wouldn't. My husband and I would get into an argument. I feel really crazy looking for something I can't find, but my body isn't lying, I am reacting to something. 

I took the air conditioning vent apart in the boys' bedroom. It was filled with a very thick, black, sticky dust. I vacuumed the duct, then scrubbed it with a soapy sponge which I had to throw away halfway through the process because it got so dirty. I used three sponges on the duct and the grate. Then I felt filthy. My clothes felt like they had been used as dust rags. I tried to clean the vent in the bathroom, but the screw was stripped so I couldn't get the grate off. I gave up and took a shower. Then, the following weekend, the boys brought home more vapes and that was all for nothing. I told my husband what I did. I was just telling him because I wanted to share how gross it was. But he got really defensive and pointed out that our adult son and his wife had stayed in that room, our daughter-in-law vapes, so it wasn't all the boys' fault. I stopped talking. There's no point in explaining. I feel like I am dealing with this completely alone. 

I decided all I could do is to keep cleaning. One day the residue will be out of my house. Either the boys will break their addiction or they will move out. Then I will heal. I will be able to relax, and not worry about what is triggering my allergies. I will be safe in my home. One day.